The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-12-17
WOMEN IN AUSTRIA.


tno OonoO0 rIOvlnc0A.
About the worst thing l remembt
.seiug in Austria. however, was
~omsn literally harnessed to a car
One often meets big work-dogs on III
,osds Of Austria. tugging in harnes,
Int / never happened to meet but on
,omsn actually harnessed up on th
road. The woman. a sturdy peasar
n about thirty five summers, was |,
boring heavily along with a load {
6re-wood faggots. while her husban
souched alongside, smoking the in
evitable long-stemmed pipe. A piec
Of rope was attached to one of tn
shafts, and whenever a hill or par,icu
larly rough spot was encountered, til
man would CONSIDERABLY pull on til
string. When they reached smooth
level ground again, hc would toss til,
rope over the ''horses'' shoulder.
watched this interesting pair for som,
distance to find out whether they at
tracted unusual attention from othel
people Nobody seemed to take any
notice of them; from which I Inferred
that the sight vas nothing uncommon
in that country. A scene that would
have brought tar and feathers, and ,
sharp-edged fence-rail into requisitior
in very short order IN the United
States, was regarded in Austria as the
most mattcr-of-fact thing in the world.
Haymaking was going on in those
smiling Danubian meadows, and l saw
the women not merely tossing and
raking the hay, but swinging the
scythe right merrily, side by side with
husband. brother and father. Nc
gentle OF courteous consideration was
anywhere shown to the women. nc
favors in the shape of easier or
pleasanter tasks allotted to them. Il
there was any part of the work o
like dull, grinding drudgery, more
destitute of interest, than any other,
women and not men were doing it.
On the big ducal estates of Hungary
saw scenes that collapsed, if possible,
even those of Austria. Hungary is ,
land Of large estates and pauper-paid
laborers, rather than Of small proprie.
tors like France and parts of Ger.
many. Instead, therefore, of womer
scattered singly about little family
holdings, n sees them in large gangs,
working under the supervision of over,
seers. Nothing reminded me so much
Of the popular conception of the pa.my
days of slavery in the Southern States,
than these long files of Hungarian
peasant women passing through the
fields with clumsy hoes. Every won.
nj was barcfooted and wore n dres.
that scarcely descended to the knees,
30 as to allow the free use o
limbs for getting about. As they
passed slowly across the fields, some
times rs many as q hundred in a row, ;
with two or three male ovcrseers
watching the line from a few PAGES q,
the rear, the heavy hoes rising and fall.
ing, without intcrmission. at every
forward stride. it was difficult to I'M
aginc them any thing else than gang.
of white slaves. They We're free
enough. however, as freedom goes In
these countries, and were probably
earning twelve cents a day each.
Sometimes, when not more than q
of hundred yards from the road,
feminine curiosity would overcome all
sense Of discipline, and the long line of
hoes wingers would break ranks and
como helter-skelter across the field
merry shouts to get a closer view
the bicycle. The overseer would
,all angrily for them to come back; but
lot until they had satisfied their lcgiti.
nate trait of female character, curios-
Ity. would they heed their voices.
1t is upon the women rather than
he men hat the burden Of Europe's
monster armies fall so %grievously. Be.
ween the husband and brother, who
re away playing soldier, and the wife
nd daughter, who are staying at home ,
DING their own and the mems l
York, the lesser of the two .
wills is not hard to choose. II !
bad enough to do compulsory mill. :
Try service; but there are redceming
,atures even in that. The real hard.
hip of the ARA ngement fall heaviest z
n the women. 1t is the women toll F
e in the fields like cattle. day after y
ny, who pay for the millions OF 9
re~ach-loaders. the Krupp guns, the Z
informs and the commissary sup c,
es. II was the peanut women " b
rance who paid the big German in H
in 1872. E
In the o rient the conditions OF
male life among the poorer classes y
e in some respects better. but in Q.
worse. Than they are in the 4,
untrics spoken Of. The people of
@ East never hurt themselves by ri
erwork >undcr any consideration. e e
lie woman are not called upon to b
ovide the bone and sinew of every L!
tra-laborious occupation as they